As a successful participant of the JT-NM Tested program MONTONE.42, DirectOut‘s MADI/RAVENNA converter, will be listed at the IP Showcase at NAB 2019 as a device aligning with the SMPTE 2110 standards. Not only was the MONTONE.42 part of the JT-NM Tested event in March 2019, but it was selected to contribute as a reference audio device for testing the ST 2110-30 implementation of other equipment.

In addition, a major firmware update will be released for the converter shortly after NAB 2019. The transparent transport of AES3 audio data over IP will be possible with the MONTONE.42 through the newly added ST 2110-31 support. The standard has been released by the SMPTE in 2018. It allows to transmit any format which can be encapsulated in AES3 (24 bit audio plus subcode) as a 2110-compliant network stream and supports audio as well as Non-PCM data as payload. Using a ST 2110-31 stream the audio signal can now be transmitted over IP, while the meta data is preserved.

DirectOut utilizes the AES3 user bit to transmit control data for the ANDIAMO series embedded in MADI. As a result, remote ANDIAMO devices can now be controlled through Audio-over-IP streams. Switchable transparency modes in the MONTONE.42 allow to safely transmit Non-PCM data, such as Dolby® E over ST2110-31 streams. The implementation of the standard has just been tested and approved at a Workshop of the Video Services Forum (VSF) in Houston.

“From the beginning DirectOut made use of User Bits in AES3 to allow remote control over MADI. Therefore, transparent transmission of the subcode was provided in many devices as a standard and by that ensured that DirectOut products support third-party solutions that make use of AES3 in various ways too,” says Claudio Becker-Foss, CTO and Managing Director at DirectOut. “We are very happy that now we can continue to offer this versatility in the IP world with ST 2110-31.”